Gemini Divided
by Krstee
Summary: -High school TRC- Despite his care-free smile, a glimpse into his enigmatic eyes would tell a different story. -- After accidentally viewing Fai's past, Sakura begs his closest friend, Kurogane, to help the deeply troubled boy to find some form of solace.
1. Chapter 1

AN:

Actual summary:  
"If anyone took a closer look at the boy, despite his care-free smile, a single glimpse into his enigmatic cerulean eyes would tell a different tale.

After a dream that shows her a piece of Fai's past, Sakura realizes how deeply troubled the boy must truly be. Recruiting the aid of Kurogane, Fai's closest friend, Sakura tries to find a way to give Fai a bit of the solace he deserves. Kurofai"

Aaaaah. Here's my second try at a high school story. I like to think myself a bit wiser and experienced now that I'm out of high school myself, and hope I can portray the characters realistically.

If you all have read any of my stories, you know I go about things in a strange way. I won't update for a while, and then I'll give you an 8,000 word chapter. Or I won't update for a while because I'll do the wrong chapter. Or, in most situations, I'll upload one chapter immediately after another.

With that said, this will be a story with multiple chapters. It's obviously an AU story ((seeing as the cast is in high school)), so I'll be making up their pasts. I'm hoping that, with the pasts I choose, their characteristics/personalities will not only be justified, but that they will be similar to that of the original characters.

Since I don't like putting in two author's notes, I'll put here what I would usually save until the end of the chapter:

This will be a Kurofai story. Admittedly, I hope it doesn't become exceedingly long or overdramatic, but Fai will be the protagonist. So you know, Kurofai guyxguy. I would say 'If you don't like such things, don't read', but I would like you to read anyways. Read and give me critiques on my writing, and I will be graciously thankful.  
But when I say critique, I don't mean blatant insults. If you don't like the way I write, or find that I'm portraying the characters in a way you don't feel is correct, it will do me no service to say 'THIS SUCKS, STOP WRITING FOREVER!'  
I love writing, so I will not stop, thank you kindly. But if you truly took the time to read through my entire story whilst hating it, tell me the aspects you didn't care for, and tell me how I can improve. Unless of course, you're one of those people who can only feel big by making another feel small. In which case, go ahead and insult me. If you need such a petty thing as making another feel inferior, I won't stop you. I'll just judge you.

I often use commas to signafy where I would take pauses both in my mind and in their speech. Perhaps you can consider this a misuse of them, but it works best for me.

Last thing. For all you Clamp fans, could you perhaps tell me some characters I could put into the story as side characters? I've only read Tsubasa and a bit of Cardcaptor Sakura, so I'm at a bit of a loss for supporting characters. Also, perhaps just a sentence or two describing their basic personalities. I'd appreciate it greatly!

Hmm. I think that's it. I love Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles deeply, and hope that I do the characters justice. The first chapter is a bit short.

-- -- --

_Shards of glass flew through the air; one shattering window following another. A sinister light prowled through the left side of the building, slowly creeping its way through the rest of the house. An empty window frame lay witness to two figures inside the engulfing flame._

_The boy on the outside of the window, a child barely past his eighth birthday, stared in a stupor as his mirror image struggled to pull another body on the other side of the frame._

_"Fai!!"_

_The boy on the outside called through the window, wincing as the emanating heat and smoke tore at his throat._

_"Fai! Please…"_

_The boy on the inside cut him off,_

_"Yuui, please help! Momma isn't moving!"_

_Yuui turned to look at his mother. In his own haste to escape the smoldering house, he hadn't thought whether his mother or Fai were behind him._

_Yuui looked helplessly through the window and the fire that separated him from the rest of his family. A quick visual scan let him know that the only safe way into the room was through the west hallway._

_"I'm coming, Fai!"_

_Yuui shouted, desperation resonating in his voice. He scampered away from the window and towards the front door. The cold, dewey grass underfoot softened his footfalls, mocking the desperate situation he faced. Despite his small stature, he yanked open the huge oaken door with its cast-iron fringe with ease._

_He ran._

_The pungent odor of the fire caught his nostrils even in the complacent foyer, though the stones beneath his bare-feet still felt cold. He ran swiftly through the house, but stopped in the opening of the doorway to the library. Flames licked their way up curtains and tore through the wood of bookshelves; ironically, the only place the fire didn't seem to have a hold was in the fire place and the middle of the room where the figure of his brother knelt over that of their mother. For a moment, in the noise and heat of the room, Yuui stopped dead in his tracks. Fai was looking straight at him, tears streaking down his soot-covered face._

_Yuui opened his mouth to yell that he was coming to help, but the first breath he drew was nothing but heat, and he choked. Dry coughs wracked his thin frame, sending tremors down his spine._

_He hopped over the set of flames separating them, beating the fire from his own clothing as he approached. As he reached them, unable to discern one shape from another, he groped blindly through the smoke and grabbed at a set of shoulders. The owner of the shoulders flinched back in shock at the touch, falling farther into his paranoia. In one moment, the twins locked eyes; both mirror reflections of each other, but both holding vastly different, unfathomable feelings and thoughts._

_Yuui gripped Fai's hand and pulled him towards the door, oblivious to the flames now beating at his side. The second Fai seemed to realize what Yuui was doing--leading him from the fire and his mother towards safety--he stopped._

_Yuui tugged on his arm again_

_"She's dead!"_

_His voice came out in a croak from the strain of the smoke._

_Fai didn't move, and Yuui tugged again._

_"Please, Fai! We have to get out!"_

_Inexplicably, he resisted the pulling, his hand slipping from Yuui's._

_"No, Yuui. I can't leave someone I love behind."_

_His words came out barely over a whisper, but Yuui heard it._

_Another burst of glass. Yuui raised his hand to his face, blocking himself from the stray shards. He looked back at Fai, running into the fire to find their mother. Tears fell from his face as he watched his brother dissappear into the blazing inferno. In that same moment he realized two things: If he didn't leave now, there was no way he would survive, and that this would be the last time he would see his brother alive._

_"I'm sorry, Fai!"_

_He shouted to the best of his ability, running out the door and into the hallway._

_He blacked out after bursting once again through the front door._

_Yuui awoke in the unscathed forest that sat directly next to the mansion. He opened his eyes blearily to the near darkness. It didn't take long for him to realize how much pain he was in. Each breath he drew felt like razor-blades clawing at the back of his throat, and each movement felt like different tendons were breaking._

_He shakily stood up; his wiry legs barely capable of holding his shivering form._

_Emerging from the trees, he approached the scene he wished would be a dream. Fire engines…ambulances…police cars… all numbers of people looking at the once pristine house that lay in smoldering ruins. They all looked at the house in shock, soot covering the faces of the firemen._

_No one noticed Yuui. On the edge of all the activity, he stood the sole witness to the event that tore away the two people he had left in his life. Tears fell from his eyes again at the sight. Somewhere, within those indiscernible ruins, Fai and his mother lay dead. Beside himself with the greif, he let out an unintentional sob, covering his face with his hands._

_" Dear God! Look!"_

_A woman called from some distance, the first to notice the blackened boy._

_"He's here! Oh, thank God!"_

_Yuui opened his mouth to speak, but found that no words came. The lady ran up to him, attracting a small group to the two._

_"Don't speak."_

_Came a voice to his left, and Yuui turned to see Doctor Kyle._

_"He'll survive."_

_The doctor said to some indistinguishable person on his left.  
Yuui turned, unconcerned for his own safety, to the house he had once considered to be his one place of solace. He remembered his rooms, his books, the box of treasures he and Fai had found over the years…_

_Yuui began to weep, unable to stop himself._

_"The boy's in shock."_

_The doctor said in his usual monotone voice._

_"Stay with him. Talk to him. Just make sure he stays away from the house."_

_The rest of the group took it as their time to leave and dispersed, going back to view the house that had once been home to the widowed wife of the town mayor._

_"Poor dear, what's happened to your hand?"_

_Yuui looked back at her, confused. He looked down to where she was looking, and realized he'd unconsciously been clutching his left hand with his right, unaware that he had been injured at all. He removed his left hand, eyes widening to see a deep gash across the back of his hand. The injury bled freely, rimmed with the black ashes of the fire._

_She took his hand and inspected it for herself._

_"Don't worry, I'm certain it will heal."_

_She looked back into his eyes,_

_"Now, are you Fai or are you Yuui?"_

_She asked._

_Yuui's eyes went wide at the question._

_"What?"_

_He asked back, unable to comprehend her question._

_"Please, your name. Which twin are you?"_

_Yuui looked back at the house, unable to turn his attention to anything else. He looked to where the library was, certain that somewhere in those remains his mother and his brother lay._

_"Fai."_

_Yuui finally said, turning back to look at the woman._

_"My name is Fai."_

_-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --_

Sakura awoke from her dream with a start, clutching a hand to the front of her nightgown. She panted as she closed her eyes, willing her heart-beat to return to normal.  
She brushed her free hand across her sweat-matted forhead, shivering as she did so.  
Her delicate hand fell from her canary yellow nightgown as the reality of the situation dawned on her.

"No…no no no no no…"

She silently whispered, wiping the tears she had shed in her sleep from her face.

Just in time, it seemed, for more tears sprung up from her soft emerald eyes.

"Fai-san… I'm so sorry."

She whispered into the darkness. She hated those dreams--the dreams that showed her the personal past life of someone she had no business seeing. She had seen glimpses of Syaoran's, Toya's, Tomoyo's, Kurogane's, and now of Fai's past.

Or… Yuui, as it now seemed.

She shook her head. No. Fai. He went by Fai, and she would respect that.

Silent sobs shook her frame, both out of guilt at having seen what Fai undoubtedly wanted to keep secret, and for the tragedy of his past.

Of course she knew of the incident. She had only been 5, but tragedies such as that didn't occur often in their town. She could remember the headlines in the paper:  
'Wayward fireworks from teens hit Fluorite mansion on July 4. Two dead in fire, one injured."

She had never been able to understand how Fai had handled it. If Toya and her father were to die…

The thought made her shudder. She didn't even want to think about it.

"Fai… are you trying to live on as you think your brother would've wanted? Is that why you took his name?"

She asked the emptiness of her room again.

Tears once again overtook her, and she cried again, wishing with all her might that she could somehow help the boy who had always seemed so care-free and happy to her.

-- -- --

It took a while for Sakura to fall back asleep. When slumber finally did overtake her, she was blessed with a dreamless sleep.

But with such a blessing, she also suffered a curse--the curse of a belated awakening.

She woke up to her usual blaring alarm-clock's noise, but to numbers she had never before witnessed before school. She opened her eyes groggily, wondering if there was something the matter with her alarm clock. When the haze of sleep finally lifted, she realized her alarm clock wasn't false and, subsequently, that she was awake 25 minutes later than she should've been. She rushed through her morning rituals (wincing as she realized she didn't have the time for her usual morning shower), and ran into the kitchen, grabbing the first convenient granola bar she could get her hands on.

"Maybe if your highness didn't need so much beauty sleep, you wouldn't have to rush all the time."

Her brother nonchalantly insulted from the table--where he sat munching ever so pleasantly on a breakfast of pancakes and eggs.

"If you're going to get up so early and cook yourself breakfast, you could make me some sometimes too, you know!"

Sakura said back in a bit of a huff. She was never one to insult or be mean, but her brother had the habit of grating on her nerves every once in a while

Toya looked back at her, feigning complete boredom,

"Now Sakura, why would I ever slave away for you? You may be the princess here, but I'll always be the king. And a king never does work for  
those under him. Now don't you have somewhere you ought to be sprinting off to, little one?"

Sakura stuck her tongue out at her brother, hating the fact that he was right--she didn't have any time to waste. She slipped on the white dress shoes of her school uniform and flounced out of the door. She held the straps of her back-pack tightly as she ran, enjoying the feeling of the gentle morning air rushing past her face. She stumbled a few times during her run, but quickly corrected herself. She looked down at her pink watch, glad to see that she still had a bit of time. Her sandy brown hair shone in the morning sunlight, giving it an almost golden tint.

"Aaah! There you are Sakura. I was wondering where you might be!"

The smiling face that Sakura always met with a smile of her own had a different effect on her this morning. Fai's smiles had never felt completely sincere, but after her dream, she wondered if he possibly used them as a cover to make sure people didn't worry about him. Or, maybe it was because if they worried, they would ask questions, and he never wanted to relive that day?

"Eeeh? What's with the long face, Sakura? Did you have a bad dream?"

Sakura blinked, realizing that she must've been staring for a considerable amount of time while she had been trying to analyze him. She smiled nervously, a soft giggle escaping her lips,

"Sorry, Fai-san! I didn't sleep well last night."

Fai chuckled, leaning against the tree they always met at. A true smile crossed her lips as she watched him. The school uniform for the males was a forest green jacket that sat over a white dress top, along with pure black pants and an ebony tie. She reflected, for a moment, that Fai certainly looked wonderful in it. Of course, Sakura mused as she leaned next to him on the tree, Fai could probably pull off most looks. He was definitely very lanky and thin, but he carried himself in a very strong, nimble way. He had gentle facial features and a beautiful smile, but his most remarkable features were his eyes and hair. His enigmatic cerulean eyes that both hid and exposed more emotions than Sakura had ever seen the boy express, and the beautiful, airy blonde hair that looked more comfortable than any pillow she'd ever seen.

"I can see that, Sakura. You're staring at me again."

Sakura blinked again, shaking her head as she did so. She flushed softly at the realization,

"I'm sorry, Fai-san! "

Fai waved his hand in a noticeable 'don't-worry-about-it' manner and looked back at her, smiling.

"I wasn't sure what to tell Kuro if you were late again. He doesn't like waiting."

Sakura smiled back, looking across the street at the local park,

"I know what you mean."

She said back, her words soft and crystalline,

"Though he has yet to leave either of us behind."

Fai chuckled, picking at a loose string from his school outfit

"I don't think Tomoyo would let him."

As if on cue, the familiar jet-black convertible rounded the street corner, speeding far more than was necessary.

"Silly Kuro-pii. Always driving too fast to look cool!"

Fai said, pushing off the tree. He lifted a hand in the air and waved, grinning at the black-haired driver.

**"Kuro-tan! You're going to give Tomoyo a heart attack!!"  
**  
Fai shouted, cupping his hands around his mouth. Though the car was still a good distance away, Kurogane shouted back,

"Idiot! It's kuro**GANE**. Stop calling me stupid things!"

Fai chuckled, looking back at Sakura with a smile as the walked to the car.

"Kuro-pii is always so angry in the morning!"

He said happily, skipping the last few steps to the car.

"Aaah, shotgun, shotgun!"

Fai said upon realizing that Tomoyo hadn't taken the front seat as she usually did.  
Kurogane looked away from the annoying blonde, one hand on the wheel,

"Tsk. Whatever. Just get in the damn car and shut up."

Fai and Sakura took their respective seats, barely finding the time to buckle in before Kurogane was speeding down the road again.

"Ku…Kurogane! You're going too fast!"

Tomoyo exclaimed, grabbing the back of his seat. Had it been anyone else asking him to slow down, he wouldn't have given them a second thought. But as it was Tomoyo, his adopted sister, he immediately obeyed..

"Geeze"

Tomoyo said in her meek voice, sitting back in her seat after Kurogane had slowed down.

An odd silence filled the usually rambunctious car. Sakura looked around the car at the other members. Kurogane seemed too aggravated at having been reprimanded to say anything, Tomoyo looked too guilty about insulting Kurogane's driving, and Fai was spacing off as he so often did in the morning.  
She decided to break the palpable discomfort herself,  
"When are you going to get your license, Fai? Shouldn't you be driving by now?"

Fai looked back at Sakura, gripping the edge of his seat with a tightly gloved hand.

"If I can help it? Never. Kuro-rin can drive me around forever!"

Kurogane growled at the blonde, fighting the temptation to let go of the wheel and strangle him on the spot.

"How I've put up with the likes of you for over a year, I'll never know."

He growled out, clenching the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white.

Fai chuckled again, gently tapping Kurogane on the top of his head.

As she watched the two playfully arguing, Sakura wondered: Who was Fai? Who was he, so wrought with unshared pain and unshed tears, that put on such a believable mask? He who tried his hardest to never get too close to people? He who wore a smile in front of others despite the pain that clearly lay dormant through his eyes?

Fai was a mystery to her, and would probably forever remain so. The only thought that saddened her, however, was that Fai was probably still a mystery to himself.

-- -- -- --

AN:

I lied. I do need to put in a second author's note.

-I will update this story at least once a week if I can.  
-I gave Sakura the gift of pastsight rather than foresight  
-Anything I put in italics is either a thought, flash-back, or a dream  
-Anything I put in bold is an exclamation  
-Anything I underline is a quote.  
-I still want your critiques  
-I will delve more into their pasts  
-I haven't written anything in months. Hope I'm not too rusty.


	2. Chapter 2

AN:

So you all know, Gemini Divided will be updated every Wednesday from now on. No sooner, and hopefully no later.

I'd like to personally respond to the reviews I received:

Nameless-Catgirl -- Thank you very much, I'm glad you enjoyed it!

kuroxfaixlover -- Once again, thank you very much!

Inuyasha.SIT -- Thank you for your compliments and the critique! I wasn't sure I would get any critiques. However, I'm afraid that placing dialogue in its own paragraph is something that has always been a part of my writing. I try to not do so with the smaller bits of dialogue ((such as the 'geeze' that you mentioned)), but I'm afraid that its a habit I won't be able to break anytime soon. I can only hope it isn't too irritating for you

Astha -- You're correct, this story is an AU ((alternate universe)), which basically means I've taken the characters from a series and placed them in a different setting. While there's many ways of doing this, I'm going to try and make their pasts allign as close as possible with the original series, thus making their current personalities justifiable as well as adjacent to the original series. Yes, Syaoran appears in this chapter, and he and Sakura are both 15 in the story. Also, thank you for the character suggestion, I fully plan on using Chi, Hideki, and Freya. My friend, who has read chobits xxxHolic, is going to try to fill me in on the story lines soon. Regarding high schools, I'm using the four years system rather than three. That way, I can put Kurogane & Fai in their 4th year, and Sakura & Syaoran in their 2nd. If it was a three year system, I would have to make Sakura & Syaoran only a year younger than the other two. I beleive I already mentioned, but in this story, the group met a year ago whilst in highschool. Thank you for your wishes of luck, however, I beleive I'll need them xD

Also, many thanks for all the people who favorited the story and set it to their story alerts!

Remember, my readers, that I'll be dragging in random characters from the series that they met in the different worlds. So if you don't remember someone that I mention, just look them up on wikipedia or something

I don't beleive the second chapter needs any more explanation than that.

Without further adieu, I give you chapter two:

-- -- -- -- -- --

According to the plaque at the front of the school, Tsubasa High had been built a good hundred years ago. Fai often wondered what the population had been like back then, since the school had been under constant expansion since he'd moved to Tsubasa.

The town had notably been built in a beautiful, scenic countryside with a plethora of natural resources. He knew it was the reason his father had moved them back after all the years in the city. It was a well industrialized town of over 15,000 people, but one didn't have far to look to find a stretch of forest or river.

The expansion of the school had been working out in Fai's and Kurogane's favor. Both in their final year of high school, they shared many of the same classes together; their first mutual class being history. As the wing of the school their history class sat in was being reconstructed, their class instead took place on a section of the vast, rolling green fields behind the school.

Kurogane's parking was, as always, only marginally acceptable and within the ordained lines, forcing Fai and Sakura to crawl over to the left side to exit the vehicle.

"Kuro-woofy, wait for me! We have to study together!"

Kurogane's mouth tightened into a grimace at the nickname. As far as Fai's nicknames went, the one's regarding dogs always irritated him the most.

"One day, I'm really going to punch him."

He whispered to Tomoyo, as the two watched the others jump out of the convertible.  
Tomoyo looked over at the taller, tanned male, a scowl on her own face,

"You shouldn't say such mean things, Fai is your friend."

Kurogane chuckled, shoving his hands into his pockets,

"In the loosest form of the word. He helps me with some things, and I help him with others. We really just tolerate each other."

Kurogane and Tomoyo looked back at the other two. Sakura had forgotten to zip her back-back shut and, in her haste to get out of the car, the contents of it had spilled onto the ground. She and Fai were busily trying to pick up what had fallen.

"I think you're just saying that as a cover, Kurogane. You don't want to admit that a strong, solitary warrior such as yourself could actually have a friend."

Tomoyo said back, knowing without the shadow of a doubt that she was correct.

"You protected him last year when Fei Wang and his group were coming after him."

Kurogane scoffed, hitting a patch of dirt underfoot with the tip of his shoe.

"I don't want the idiot to die, Tomoyo. That doesn't make us friends."

Tomoyo scoffed back,

"He offers to help you with homework or studying almost every single day."

She retorted, looking up at the tall male. He stared back down at her with piercing crimson eyes,

"So, he doesn't want to see me fail out of school. That doesn't…"

"And!"

Tomoyo said, turning to face Kurogane. She jabbed him in the chest with one well-manicured finger,

"All those times he comes over at some ungodly hour to help you with your homework, does he ever ask for anything in return?"

Kurogane was spared the grief of thinking of an answer as Sakura and Fai approached the two, laughing at the situation that had occurred.

"Tomoyo, you must know something of flowers, right? Sakura has oleander scented perfume in her bag."

Tomoyo's eyes went wide at the exclamation, her mouth opening in a soft gape,

"Sakura, oleanders are poisonous!"

Sakura looked between Tomoyo and Fai, expecting one of them to burst out into laughter and tell her they were just kidding. When none came, she gaped at Tomoyo,

"But I've been using it for over a month!"  
She said with a gasp,  
"You don't think the poison is accumulating in my veins, do you?"

Kurogane let out a frustrated growl,

"I'm sure you'll be fine. It's probably just manufactured to smell like the flower or something. C'mon, Fai, we need to study for the history test."

Without waiting for a response, Kurogane gripped one of Fai's slender wrists in his own, pulling the young man along whether he complied or not.

"Bye Sakura, Tomoyo! Tell Syaoran Kuro-woofy and I say hello!"

Fai called out, barely able to keep stride with Kurogane.

"Idiot, I didn't say that."

Kurogane muttered once they were out of ear-shot of the other two.  
Fai quirked his head in confusion, skittering to keep up with Kurogane's near jogging pace.

"Say what, Kuro?"

Kurogane looked back, incredulous that the blonde would've forgotten already what he had just said,

"Any form of greeting to that kid Syaoran."

Finally realizing what Kurogane meant, Fai couldn't help but laugh. Not that he would've held back anyways, not with his profound love for irritating the taller, more intimidating male,

"Ah, but things are so awkward between the two of you, Kuro-chi. Someone needs to break the tension."

Kurogane exhaled in the sound of a 'chh'.

"Who's fault is that? The kid thinks I'm trying to hook up with Sakura. I'm not apologizing for his misconceptions."

Fai took hold of Kurogane's hand with his own free hand, pulling on the fingers that held his wrist captive. Kurogane let go, realizing his strong  
hold must've hurt Fai's bony wrist after a while.

"But, you know, Syaoran is in love with her. You can't be too mad at him for trying to protect what he loves."

Kurogane looked back at Fai, quirking an eyebrow at him. Never once in their year of knowing each other had Fai every mentioned the word 'love' or expressed any sort of interest in the lives of their other friends.  
He scoffed at Fai, slowing his pace to match the other's,

"What do you know of love?"

He asked skeptically, running a hand through his short black hair. For one of the first times in their friendship, Fai didn't jump back with a witty quip. After a long pause, Kurogane looked over his shoulder to see Fai staring pensively off into space, the usual smile he wore replaced with  
stoic features.

"I suppose you're right. I wouldn't know anything about love."

Kurogane glanced away awkwardly, realizing far too late that he'd just struck a bit too close to home for Fai.

"Need to talk?"

He asked bluntly, stopping in his stride to face the blonde.

As quickly as it had left his smile returned, all evidence of the break from the façade absent,

"No, I'm fine…"  
Fai began, standing beside Kurogane,  
"Big Doggie."

He said, barely over a whisper. Knowing the outcome of the name, Fai galloped forward, barely avoiding the outstretched hand.

"Get back here! I'm gonna tear that damn mouth from your face!"

Kurogane shouted, chasing after the boy. He ran, knowing there was no way he would ever catch up. Kurogane may've had a leg up on him when it came to fighting and most physical sports, but running was something the ever agile Fai excelled in.  
His anger wasn't so driven by the silly nickname, as irritating as it was. It was that smile. That infernal smile he used to never let anyone get too close. Should any problem arise, he would smile and immediately assume the defensive. That phony persona pissed Kurogane off more than any other characteristic he had ever found in any other person. What angered him most, though, was that he had seen the real side of Fai. A select few times, he'd seen him drop his guards, and Kurogane saw him for what he was: a little boy who was too terribly hurt and confused, who was afraid of ever getting close to people. Kurogane couldn't tell if it was something from his past, or if the guy really was just that scared for his own personal safety.

He lost sight of Fai around one heavily occupied hallway and gave up. His breath came in short bursts from the sudden exertion as he pushed his way through the mob of people.

"Kurogane-san!"

As soon as his name had been uttered, he felt a set of hands grab at his elbow, as if the owner was afraid he would rush off with pause.  
He looked down into a set of gray eyes,

"Chun Hyang? What do you want?"

The first year girl let go, a quizzical look on her face,

"Did you say something mean to Fai-san again? He just ran past here looking like he wanted to cry."

Kurogane looked back at the girl, pure confusion washing over him.

"He wasn't smiling?"

He asked back. The petite girl shook her head,

"No. It's the first time I've seen him that way."

Kurogane scarcely waited for her to finish before dashing along, more determined than ever to catch up to the boy. He ignored the aggravated cries of the people he barreled through, concerned only with making it to the field.

The school corridors were long, but Kurogane quickly made it out, dashing towards the field.

"Oi! Fai!"

He shouted, rapidly spotting the blonde among their fellow classmates.

Fai turned around from his seated position and did the worst thing he could've possibly done to Kurogane.

He smiled.

"Kuropuu, you slow-poke! You took so long to get here."

And Kurogane did the one thing he hated doing most--he gave Fai a fake smile.

"Idiot. You know you're the fastest runner in this school."

Kurogane muttered back, taking a seat next to Fai. To say the least, he didn't understand Fai. He could say, however, that over the years, they'd both learned to cope with each other's mannerisms.

At least to some extent.

-- -- -- -- --

Even with the extra 20 minutes to study, Kurogane assured Fai after the period that he had failed the test. He explained with a vehement fervor,  
"Who gives a crap about the gods of a dead society, anyways?"

The two parted to their respective classes; Fai to choir and Kurogane to kendo. After meeting again, the two left for their mutual literature & language arts class where, already aggravated at having lost his match, Kurogane fell into another argument with the mild-mannered teacher over what the author of 'Pride and Prejudice' meant to convey in the second chapter.  
After barely escaping detention by Fai's timely interjection, the two left the class for lunch.  
As they approached the tree that had become their 'regular' meeting spot, Kurogane was once again attempting to teach Fai to whistle.

"Like this, Kuro-rin?"

Fai asked, once again attempting the act. His attempts were, as they always ended up being, in vain. The air came out sounding like a mere exhalation.

"Chh. No again. You must have a gap in your front teeth or something."

Kurogane chided, looking back at Fai.

"You know I don't, so your baseless accusation proves only to exemplify your ultimately futile teaching skills."  
Fai rounded back, knowing the verbose sentence would irritate Kurogane even farther.  
"But that's purely an objective standpoint, Kuro-pon!"

He stammered, knowing from the look on Kurogane's face that it wasn't the time for insults.  
By that time, the two were already at the tree by their other eight friends, leaving Kurogane no time to argue.

Fai made sure that Kurogane had no time to retort by commenting on the first thing that caught his eye,

"Hyuu! Syaoran sure is studying hard!"

Syaoran looked up from his history book and note-pad, a bit shocked that he'd been recognized for doing something so trivial.

"Yeah."

Came his plain response before he was back to his books. Sakura gently nudged Syaoran on the side, knowing it would be up to her to make sure the group didn't fall into an awkward pause,

"Syaoran is studying for a big history test today…"

She said softly, looking directly at Fai. She left unsaid what she was certain Fai knew she meant: 'I'm sorry for his rude behavior, he merely thinks you're trying to help Kurogane seduce me.'

"Syaoran-kun is so cool!"

A young, blonde haired girl exclaimed from Fai's left, clapping her hands together. Fai smiled, taking a seat next to her. Chi, he knew, had had a crush on him for at least the last year. He admired her determination at winning him over, but knew he could never date her. He knew he'd only end up hurting her in the end, and she deserved more than that. For that reason, he'd always kept her at arms-length and never given any romantic suggestions; and when he'd learned that Hideki had a crush on her, he couldn't say he was disappointed.

He had yet to learn why the two weren't dating yet, but he'd decided to stay out of their business.

With the afternoon sun at it's highest—scorching down on all students without the protection of shade—the group of ten fell into a near silent trainquility. They ate their lunches, and many discarded their jackets to avoid additional heat. Fai, ever the day dreamer, closed his eyes after a time, focusing merely on the sound of the sparce wind whispering through the tree branches, the occasional shuffle of one of his friends, and the constant scratching of led against paper on Syaoran's part.

He was torn from his serendipity by a prod to the shoulder. He immediately clasped a hand to the assaulted flesh, turning a angered pout in Kurogane's direction.

"What was that for?"

He asked indignantly.

Kurogane rolled his eyes at Fai, flicking him on the forehead,

"Were you listening to a word I said?"

Fai quirked an eyebrow,

"Did you say something?"  
He asked, smirking when he realized his folly,  
"Aaah, sorry Kuro-barky. I was too busy listening to nature."

It's said that on rare occasions, people don't need words to express their true feelings. What they want to say is clear as day by one facial expression.  
Kurogane's return look of irritation clearly said "You can't be serious."  
He pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to control his need to demean the older male,

"I asked if you need a ride home today. If so, I have kendo after school, so you'll have to wait."

Fai bit his bottom lip in thought, contemplating his options.

"No thanks. There's somewhere I need to go after school today anyways."

Sakura, previously transfixed on Syaroan's history book, looked up skeptically at the statement,

"You're still coming to auditions tomorrow though, aren't you?"

Fai winked back at her,

"Of course. I couldn't let you audition by yourself, could I?"

"Auditions for what?"

Kurogane asked, turning a curious eye towards Fai.

"The school play, Kuro-pii. Do you want to audition too?"

"I'd rather choke on my own vomit than dance on stage like a monkey."

Kurogane responded, giving Fai another 'you-can't-be-serious' looks.

"Your loss, musicals are fun."

The other's could hear Kurogane mutter something about how that'd make it worse, but they chose to ignore it.

"I'll be trying out, too."

Watanuki said from his position in the circle, craning his neck to look at Sakura and Fai,

"What part will you two be trying out for?"

Sakura smiled back at him,

"I'm going to try to get Christine, but I bet Primera will end up getting her…"

Sakura said a bit sullenly. Right after Primera, she was the best singer in the female choir.

"Primera will probably get Carlotta. She's the only one who can make her voice go that high."

Sakura looked back at Fai's warm, reassuring smile. She chuckled back at him,

"Maybe. How about you, Fai?"

Fai leaned back on his outstretched arms, enjoying the feeling of the sunlight streaming through the tree's canopy on his face. He closed his eyes,

"I'd like to be the phantom. But, knowing Yuuko, she'll probably type-cast me as one of the stage managers or Raoul."

"Chi would like to be one of the dancers!"

Chi shot in, grasping Hideki's shoulder,

"And Hideki wants to be in the chorus."

Fai smiled, cracking an eye open to look at Hideki. Predictably, the boy was blushing--but smiling and nodding in affirmation.  
'Poor love sick boy.'  
Fai inwardly thought, fiddling with the grass between his fingertips,  
'Auditioning for a play just to spend more time with Chi'.

"I didn't know there was going to be a school play… Sakura, what play is it?"

Syaoran asked, inexplicably interested enough in theatre to break his near-legendary focus.  
Sakura smiled back, seemingly glad to see Syaroan enter the conversation.

"The Phantom of the opera. Would you like to audition with us, Syaoran?"

She asked, unable to hide the excitement from her voice.

It was all Fai could do to withhold his laughter.  
'More love-sick kids. I'm surrounded by children who are too reticent to just admit their feelings.'  
He caught Kurogane's eye and smiled, wondering if he was thinking the same thing.  
"I'd love to, Sakura! It sounds like fun."

Amidst the chatter, Kurogane and Fai snuck away, both using the excuse of needing to go to their lockers to avoid talking about their thoughts on theatre.

"Only three periods left in the day, Kuro-pii!"

Fai said with a grin, readjusting the books laden in his arms.

"And so will end the second Thursday of our senior year. Remind me to celebrate later."

Kurogane muttered without inflection, taking the opportunity to nudge the blonde with his free elbow.

"Well, I'll see you in sixth period, then."

Fai said, stopping as they came to the intersection where they were to part ways.  
Kurogane, however, continued walking, only raising a hand in the air to signify that he had heard Fai.  
Fai continued down his own way, his smile only faltering for a moment.

-- -- --

At 3:10 p.m., the final bell for school released its unaltered cry, signaling the end of school.  
Fai and Kurogane stood from their respective seats, both wishing retrospectively that they'd taken an easier science class. Fai pushed a piece of his messy blonde hair behind his right ear, patiently waiting for Kurogane to pack his bag.

"You should try organizing your bag."

He said, leaning in closer to examine the full extent of disarray present in Kurogane's bag.

"Shut it, blondie."

Fai chuckled, throwing the strap of his bag over his shoulder.

"So harsh, Kuro-silly."

Kurogane looked up from his bag, pure disgust from the nickname plastered on his face.

"Don't you have somewhere you have to go?"

He asked, a bit harsher than he had meant it to sound.

"Too wise, Kuro-silly. I'll see you later."

Kurogane looked back at his bag, attempting to squeeze in his physics book again,

"Yeah, later."

-- -- --

The sun beat down on the cracked side-walk, sending up heat-waves from a distance. Fai walked alone, paying attention to nothing but the sound his shoes made with every footfall. Occasionally a car would pass, or a T.V. from a nearby house would break his silence. At the brink of the horizon, Fai could make out the silhouette of trees, marking his final destination: the local cemetery.

He looked back towards the ground, unwilling to face the incriminating sight until need-be. As the gritty blocks of concrete and juxtaposing grassy edging to his left passed by his eyes, his thoughts turned towards those of his deceased family.

He often wondered whether Fai still hated him for the cowardice of that night; other times, he wondered whether Fai had actually ever hated him for it.

It didn't matter, he would try to tell himself. He would make it up to Fai by living as he would've wanted to. He knew, somehow, that that would be the one thing that would ever allow him to repent for his flaws. It was the only way he had managed to live without regretting being alive in lieu of his brother.

He walked through the decrepit gates of the cemetery, shuddering as his feet hit the messy trail. Tsubasa didn't have the picturesque cemetery other towns had. It wasn't covered with rolling green hills and pristine grave-stones. It looked more like the cemeteries found only in nightmares. It was a dirt-covered span of land, home to crumbling grave-stones that sat along slightly newer ones. Weeds stuck out at odd intervals, giving it a patchy look. One thing Fai could say in its defense was that the evergreen trees at least gave some form of comforting beauty.

His walk through the cemetery was a calculated and guided one, his feet needing no help from his brain to reach their desired destination.

Slightly set off from the rest of the graves sat three large graves, all adorned with a cross on top.  
Aaron Fluorite, Arashi Fluorite, and Yuui Fluorite.

No matter how many times he attended the graves, the sight of his true name upon the gravestone sent dry tremors rattling down his spine.

He reached into his bag and pulled out three candles. He reached to the top of the graves, pulling off the used candles he had left from his last visit.

Setting the three candles down where the others had been, Fai crouched before the graves.

"Father…"  
He muttered, pulling a lighter from his pocket. He leaned forward, lighting his father's candle.  
"Mother…"  
He said, lighting the candle over his mother's grave.

He turned his head towards his twin's grave, feeling the tears burning at his eyes.  
"Fai…"  
He finally said, lighting the candle.

The cemetery was nearly always empty, and at the very least, this section always was. Fai was glad for this; had anyone ever come when he was here, they would see his near perfect façade broken. Fai had only cried four times outside of the cemetery after the death of his mother and brother. Out of the cemetery, he was Fai—carefree, fun-loving Fai. Inside the cemetery, he was Yuui again. The desolate, lonely boy who would've traded his own life if only it meant he could see the true Fai again. The boy who wished someone would see through the act he put on in the real world and help him.

Most of all, he wished he could remember what love felt like, rather than the searing pain he felt in his heart whenever he thought of the people he had loved.

_End of Chapter Two_


	3. Chapter 3

AN:  
Why, look at that, it's Wednesday :D

Anyways, mostly just Fai's past. It's a bit short, sorry.

So let me respond to the reviews I received:

**Aralka- **Haha, thank you. I understand what you mean, I don't like it when people do that either

**Liathrain**- Thank you

**Inuyasha.SIT **- Hmm, if you'd like, I also post this story on my deviant art account. There, I don't put the massive space between them. I do indent five spaces when using dialogue, but not entire paragraphs. So, if that would be better for you, then my deviant art username is the same as this one.

**kuroxfaixlover**- Awwwh, thank you!

**SilverKleptoFox-** It'd scare me too! Thanks, I'm glad you like the story so far.

**Ominous-Shadow- **Wow, thank you for the reviews! They truly made me smile. I want to hug Fai to… x3

**Mintz- **Hahaha, you're silly. Thanks for the reviews, though. And you're right, Fai is the prettiest xD

-- -- --

If you were to ask anyone of Fai's past, most would answer by telling you,

"Ten years ago he was in a fire that killed the rest of his family."

A few select others could tell you of the time they spent in elementary school.

None, however, could tell his misfortunate tale properly. If you were to ask him to tell his story, he wouldn't tell you either. He would give you a sad smile and tell you that he didn't have a story to tell.

His true story, however, starts before his birth.  
His story does not start with 'Ten years ago there was a fire and a lie.'  
Even past 'Seventeen years ago, two twins were born into a misfortunate life'

It starts: 'Twenty years ago, there was a poverty stricken woman who fell in love.'

_Arashi had never lived a wonderful life, so to speak. Born into poverty herself, she had never been able to escape it. Despite her striking good looks and mild-mannered personality, at 27 she was still barely capable of supporting herself. She had a low-paying secretary job that barely paid enough for her apartment and food._

So how, for a woman so desperate and miserable in her solitude, could she not have fallen for the debonair charm of Kentaro Shukaido? Having never known the joys of extra support, nor the surprise of random gifts, she was quickly putty in his hands. It hadn't taken much for her to think of him as the most important person in her life.

He was a handsome man himself, but scarcely wealthier than she. Despite his flaws, and despite his frequent violent mood swings, she couldn't imagine herself without him. They went through many hardships, but both stood by the motto that their love would endure.

Until Arashi became pregnant.

She tried to keep it a secret from Kentaro, knowing he would take the news badly, but the presence of twins in a woman so slim wasn't a fact easily hidden. He had thought nothing of it for the first few months, assuming she had made some friends at work who might actually be buying her lunch. Four months into her pregnancy, though, and the gained weight couldn't be blown off as a mere change of diet.

The first thing from his lips after she had affirmed his suspicions was an ineloquent,

"Get an abortion."

Despite the resounding pain the words struck in her, she kept her face stern.

"I can't. I'm four months in."

The resulting argument had gone on for a good 4 hours. Kentaro argued that, if she had to have the child, she would need to put it up for adoption. Through tears, Arashi blatantly denied his demand, arguing back that few orphaned children in their large city ever survived. She yelled that her parents had been able to raise her despite their poverty; and she would do the same for her child.

In the end, Kentaro told her that she would have to chose. The baby or himself. If she chose to keep it, he wouldn't stick around and support it. He couldn't. He would stay with her until it was born, but he wouldn't stay if she chose to keep it.

Their love diminished after the argument, and their partnership quickly turned into a chore. Arashi couldn't continue to love the man who wouldn't support his own child, and Kentaro couldn't look past the fact that she had chosen an unborn child over himself.

Eighteen years ago, twins were born to a woman who quickly became a single mother. Two identical baby boys, two more mouths to feed. One had seemed hard enough on its own, but twins hadn't been a tangible thought on her part.

She would get a bit of state-appointed child support from Kentaro, but she still worried it wouldn't be enough. She had been equally worried about what she would do about her job. She couldn't just leave her children at home alone, and she certainly couldn't afford a nanny.

Somehow, a bit too coincidentally for her tastes, the business she worked at created a day-care center within the building not a week after the birth of her twins.

She brought the twins to the day-care center after her first day off of maternity leave and was glad to see a few other infants in the room. The twins were two months old, and both sporting identical blue eyes and translucent blonde hair.

"Who decided to make a day-care?"

Arashi asked the lady who seemed to be in charge, brushing a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. She was glad the twins had acquired both her hair color and eye color. She didn't want to be reminded of Kentaro every time she looked at them.

"You didn't know? Aaron Fluorite has been working on plans for a day-care for about four months now."

Arashi blinked in surprise,

"The foreign CEO? Does he have children of his own?"

"Not that I know of. If he does, he hasn't brought them in yet."

Arashi was at a loss for words, wondering whether the mysterious CEO she'd never met had done her the favor, or whether the convenient creation of a day-care had really been a coincidence.

"What are their names?"

Arashi came out of her thoughts, smiling back at the lady,

"This one is Fai, and this one is Yuui."

The lady chuckled,

"How do you tell the difference?"

Arashi pointed at Yuui,

"Yuui doesn't open his eyes as wide as Fai does. That's the only difference between the two I've yet to find!"

Arashi responded with a chuckle, handing the twins to the lady.

It wasn't a week later that Aaron Fluorite 'accidentally' bumped into Arashi, sending a mess of papers in a multitude of directions. She could hardly say no when the handsome older man asked her if she would allow him to buy her lunch as an apology, and she could hardly stop from smiling during the amusing conversation that followed.

Hardly surprisingly, over the next few weeks, Aaron continued to take her to lunch.

Perhaps, she began to think, her meeting with Aaron Fluorite hadn't been a mere coincidence. But then again, she hadn't noticed his side-long glances every time he entered the building. She hadn't realized that the extra maternity leave surely had to have come from somewhere.

It didn't take long for the two of them to become close. They talked freely and shared their interests. Nevera moment of awkward silence or tension pass between them. Before long, she invited him over and introduced him to the twins. Fai and Yuui had grown quickly within the first year, and each were developing their own quirky personalities.  
They referred to Arashi as 'momma', and called Aaron 'Papa Aaron'.

He had quickly found a place within the distorted family, and even more so within the twins hearts. If a day went by where they didn't see him, the twins would ask why Papa Aaron hadn't come home to see them. Arashi was glad, when they said this, that the twins had never met their real father. He was a fine man, but his violent temper often got the best of him. She had always been nervous what would happen if he tried to raise children.

When Aaron proposed, Arashi wasn't surprised. She had been expecting the proposal after so many months, and had even gone through the process of analyzing the situation. She didn't love Kentaro a bit anymore, but she also wasn't in love with Aaron. She loved him as a dear friend, and she appreciated him more than she had anyone else in her life, but she didn't have the romantic spark that she had with Kentaro.

One thing weighed more heavily than any of her own personal feelings. She loved Fai and Yuui, and knew that her marriage to Aaron was the only chance they had at a better life than she had had. She didn't hate Aaron either, and perhaps the security of a normal household and a stable family would bring her closer to the man.

She had been right. She married Aaron 6 months after his proposal. With the new joys of his marriage, he decided to take a chance and go after something he'd always wanted to do. He sold his business, gathered his belongings, and moved his new family to Tsubasa, the town he had grown up in. He built a mansion with the money he had earned and ran for mayor, quickly earning favor over the other cretin who was running.

Arashi, Aaron, and the twins quickly fell into a wonderful pattern of life. Aaron treated the twins as he would his own sons, and the boys truly thought him to be their father. Arashi could only smile happily at the situation. They were a family of sorts. It was, at least, the closest she'd ever had to a family.

She was happy, she could see Aaron was happy with his new family and job, but most of all, the twins were happy. They had never said anything to make her wonder whether they were happy or not, but now she could tell. They ran through the house with each other, explored the woods around the mansion, and even wandered into neighbors yards uninvited. The two were best friends.

Six years after their marriage, the sickness Aaron had always suffered from took the better of him. He never said a word of the aches that wracked his torso--never alluding to the fact that each breath of air he took sendt waves of piercing pain throughout every inch of his body.

The day before he died, he asked the twins to sleep with Arashi and himself. He whispered that he loved them, and that they were the best sons he could've ever asked for. Yuui and Fai, at seven, could hardly comprehend why they were being given such praise. They merely smiled back at him, reassuring him of their own mutual love for him. The family slept together that night, and none seemed to notice Arashi's silent tears at the inevitable future.

Aaron's funeral had a large gathering. He had become beloved by all of the people in the town. Arashi sat in the front row, tightly holding both of her boys as they freely mourned the loss of their father. She looked back in surprise after the funeral had ended. Every single one of the 400 chairs had been filled. But it was more than that, even. Behind those 400, she recognized that there must've been at least 2,000 people standing behind them.

A close friend of Aaron's, Clow Reed, took over the job as mayor. He offered to hire Arashi as his personal advisor. He tried to convince her that he merely did so because she had the experience, but she knew he was doing them a personal favor. She would've have been able to keep a house as large as the one they owned off of only government pension.

She tried to help her twins see that everything would be alright, and life would go one, but she couldn't blame them for the depression they went through after losing their father. It was lucky, she thought, that they at least had each other to comfort each other.

And yet, even with the loss looming heavily over their shoulders at every turn, life went on for the three. Arashi made enough money to keep the house, and the twins made it through together. Through everything, the twins had remained the closest of friends. They seemed, to Arashi, both incredibly different and incredibly similar. They had so many different opinions on things, but neither ever argued over who was right or who was wrong. They depended on each other, and each was always there for the other should anything go wrong. It was evident to anyone that the twins could never be separated.

News of Aaron's death traveled quickly, and it traveled far. The papers in Kyoro city read:

"Aaron Fluorite, once the business CEO of a local company, died in Tsubasa last Thursday. Within his short six years of life there, Aaron had become the mayor the town. He, his wife Arashi, and their twins Fai and Yuui, built a mansion after growing tired of city life…"  
Though he hadn't been there to see the two boys named, Kentaro had no doubt that the Arashi was the same. Not even a day later, Kentaro was on the train towards Tsubasa.

He found Arashi on her way from walking the twins home from elementary school. They trotted on her right side, Yuui holding both his mother and his brother's hand.  
He recognized her from a distance and walked towards her, a smile on his face--the same smile that both charmed and exposed his ulterior motives.

"Arashi."

He called out, almost directly in front of her. She stopped dead in her tracks, pulling Yuui and Fai closer to her.

"Kentaro."

She replied back, keeping her face straight.

"Yuui and Fai? Good names, Arashi."

He said, seeing past her façade. He knew her insides were in turmoil at his appearance.

"What do you want?"

She bit back, placing a hand around the twins' shoulders.  
Kentaro looked back at Fai and Yuui, chuckling at their twin looks of confusion.

"Just to see what my sons look like."

He looked back into her eyes,

"And to see you again."

Arashi's eyebrows furrowed at the man,

"They aren't your sons, you had no part in raising them. And don't you dare try and come here pretending you suddenly want to be a father after all these years! I know why you're here, Kentaro, and the answer is no. Go back to Kyoro and leave us alone."

She said, raising her voice at the man. His smile faltered.

"Arashi, things were hard. You gave me no choice…!"

Arashi interjected,

"No choice? No choice!? I gave you plenty of choice, you moron! But you chose your way, and I chose mine. That's done, and we're done. Leave us alone!"

Kentaro grabbed at her shoulder as she tried to pass,

"I love you, Arashi."

For a moment, Arashi looked back at him, believing the sincerity of his words. Fai let go of Yuui's hand, dashing forward and kicking the man in the shin.

"Leave momma alone!"

Kentaro released his hold on Arashi's arm, grabbing for his throbbing leg.

"Piece of shit!"

He shouted, biting his bottom lip in frustration. Fai ran back to Arashi, grabbing her hand and pulling her forward. Arashi and the twins walked away from the cursing man and towards their house.

It was that evening that Arashi told the twins the true secret of their birth. She told them everything about her life in poverty, Kentaro, and the man they had thought to be their father. She asked them to understand that she had loved Aaron, and begged them to consider him as their father.  
She had expected anger, but instead Yuui and Fai sat on either side of her and hugged her, comforting her as she cried.

Kentaro didn't give up. He came back to their house at least twice a week, only to be turned away by their housekeeper. He tried to speak to the twins on their way to school, only to learn how quick his sons were at evasion.  
Six months of this went by, and Kentaro began to grow desperate. He was obsessed with winning Arashi back and sharing a piece of her wealth.  
Obsession became insanity, and the goal became all he could see. He wanted to win by any means necessary.  
He gave up seduction, and instead turned to threats.  
Still, Arashi refused to tell anyone else. She didn't want the secrets of her past exposed to the people of the town who so dearly respected her.

On July 2nd, Kentaro gave Arashi an ultimatum. He stood in front of her house all day, until she returned home with the twins. He told her, simply "If I can't have you, no one will."

On July 4th, the Fluorite mansion nearly burned to the ground.

On July 4th, two people died.

On July 4th, empty firework cartridges beside the house were marked as the reason of the fire.

Once upon a time, a murder was marked as an accident.

Fai…then Yuui, decided to become his brother. He felt with every nerve in his body that it was not he who should be alive. He left his mother to die, while his brother went back to save her. Fai had always been the brave one, ready to stand up for those he loved. Fai would always put the happiness and safety of others before his own.  
Yet he, the coward, had been the one to live, while Fai had given his own life on the slim chance that he could get their mother to safety.  
He decided, at the age of eight, that he would live as he thought his brother would've wanted to live.

The task had been harder than he thought it would be. He and Fai had had so many contradicting views. He knew that, while outwardly he could express Fai's views, he could never internally make himself believe something he didn't believe, nor could he make himself feel what he thought Fai could feel.  
He was Yuui, and he was Fai. He tried, as Fai had done, to help people as often as possible, no matter the stress or hardships it put on him.

Yet he could never forget the last words Fai had said to him.

"I can't leave behind someone I love"

_End of Chapter Three_


	4. Chapter 4

AN: Weeoo, Wednesday is almost over, but I'm still posting! haha.

This chapter is a bit short; but in compensation, I will tell you that the next two are ridiculously long. I almost considered making them 4 seperate chapters. But, since that seemed like far too many, they still stay as 2.

SilverKleptoFox- hohohoho, yes, we will have to see x3. Thanks for the review!

kuroxfaixlover- awwwwh, thank you so much!!

Kurotorachan- thank you!

Nameless-CatGirl- thank you, I'm glad you liked it

hkr-11- Thanks, I'll have to check out your story soon! I'll have to check out X/19, it sounds interesting. Yeah, I seem to recall from my days of watching cardcaptor sakura years ago that Tomoyo had a pretty voice. She'll definitly be at auditions x3. Aaah, thank you for reminding me. I need to type out the chapter next about how the group met. Fai and Kurogane were in their 3rd year in highschool, and Sakura and Syaoran were in their 2nd year when they met each other. As far as Arashi goes, I was on the Clamp wikipedia page, and pulled random names of characters for both Arashi and Kentaro. So, chances are it could be that character you're talking about. Either way, I just needed to give them names xD Thank you, once again!

-- --

**Chapter Four**

Fai crouched in front of the small tombstone, his hands clutching at the moist earth beneath him. The sun had begun its descent from the sky, leaving a myriad of swirling hues in the sky.

"You were wrong, Fai…"

He said, forcing himself to not cry as he said the words. He looked back up at the tombstone; the one that clearly said what had once been his own name.

"You left me behind."

He muttered solemnly, standing up from the grave. He turned back around, wincing as the retina-scarring rays of the setting sun perturbed his line of sight.

He had never seen Kentaro since that day, and could only hope that perhaps the man's insanity had disappeared long enough for him to realize the extent of what he had done. Fai hoped that he had either committed suicide or run very, very far away.

He brushed off his knees, sending a spray of dirt and mud from both his hands and the clothing. When he looked up again, he made certain he was smiling again. The same, angelic smile he had seen his twin brother wear in every memory he had with him. Ashura, his adopted father, would be impatiently awaiting his return, and Kurogane would probably be calling him soon for homework help.

-- --

Fai's predictions were seldom wrong, especially when it came to Kurogane. Despite the animosity that people sometimes read between the two, Kurogane was the closest thing Fai had to a 'best friend', and he was certain the feeling was mutual. The two had never shared their emotions with the other, nor had they ever shared their pasts. When it came to things such as helping the other through a rough spot, however, neither hesitated to help the other out. Kurogane had been the only one to ever criticize the fact that Fai's smile was fake, and had been the one person to say, 'I don't care about your past, but you shouldn't let it affect the present so much. I don't know what happened to you to make you want to hide everything you feel from everyone in your life, but you better never lie to me again."  
It was the deepest thing Kurogane had ever said to him and, subsequently, the most touching thing Fai could remember someone saying to him. Though he hated to admit it, it had brought him even closer to the male—close enough to actually tell the truth on things he would've otherwise lied about.

So within a year of their friendship, the two were used to spending time with each other and talking. Or, as Kurogane liked to describe it 'tolerating each other.'

As such, Fai wasn't surprised when he received a phone call at 11 p.m. He flicked his cell-phone open, not caring to look at the caller I.D.  
"Ready for me to help you?"  
He asked, a smile on his face.

The line went silent for a moment, and Fai chuckled, knowing Kurogane was considering hanging up and trying on his own again.

"Don't…patronize me."

The voice came back hesitantly, frustration seeping from his words.  
Fai chuckled back, pushing a piece of his blonde hair behind an ear,

"Is it alright for me to spend the night, Kuro-pon?"

Kurogane sighed on the other end, too tired to argue the absurd nickname,

"Yeah. I already asked."

Fai smirked, standing up and grabbing his sleeping attire with one hand.

"Good! I'll just get some stuff, tell Ashura, and be over in a bit."

He was about to hang up, when Kurogane's voice cut across from the other side,

"Don't you even want to know what I'm going to need help with?"

He said, knowing the older blonde well enough to know that he would want to bring some manner of book over to aide in his explanations.

"Aaah, too wise, Kuro-pon! What subject?"

"I need help for the math test tomorrow."

Fai nodded unconsciously, grabbing his math book from the pile of mismatched book,

"Got it, I'll be there in a bit!"

He said as cheerily as possible, closing his phone and shoving it in his pocket.

He never needed to pack much for a trip to Kurogane's house. Over the years, he'd accidently left more things at Kurogane's house that he could probably imagine. He folded his school uniform and put it in his bag with the math book, throwing over the messenger bag's cover after squeezing it all in.

He flew down the stairs three at a time, stumbled, corrected himself, and landed at the bottom with knee-buckling force.

"Ashura! I'm going over to Kurogane's house!"

He shouted, turning his head as he spoke. The two lived in a large house by themselves, and he could never be too sure where Ashura might be at any given moment.

"Spending the night?"

Ashura's voice came from the right.  
Fai smiled in the same direction, raising his hand to wave,

"Yup! I'll be back tomorrow to do chores."

Ashura's voice came back, a bit closer than before,

"Alright, kiddo. Try to get some sleep."

He stepped through the door-frame at Fai's right with the same softness and grace he applied in everything he did.

Fai smiled back at him, side-stepping the man before he tried to hug him.

"Thank you, bye."

He said in a rush, stepping through the door.

He felt bad for evading Ashura, but he couldn't stand when the older man tried to hug him. Being so close to the man made him wary; he'd always had a feeling that Ashura knew more about him than he let on.

He readjusted the strap of his bag and set off towards Kurogane's house, glad for the presence of the street-lights to guide him through the inky darkness.

-- --

As the president of Piffle Princess Toy Company, Tomoyo's father was rarely around. He was usually either in the business' main building in Clow Country, or he would be traveling to different meetings. With him always gone, and their mother needing to go to bed early for her own job, it was either their daughter or Kurogane to answer the door at knight.

Fai rapped his knuckles against the mahogany door lightly. He shifted nervously from foot to foot as he met with silence. He was about to knock on the door again when it opened abruptly before him.

As usual, Tomoyo met him in her nightgown, a frown creasing her features.

"Evening, Tomoyo. Is Kuro…"

She held up a hand to silence him,

"Fai… you know you don't need to knock. Kurogane is upstairs."

Fai let out an abashed chuckle, smiling nervously,

"Sorry, Tomoyo. I'd feel awkward just walking in."

Tomoyo looked back up at him with her amethyst eyes, her frown slowly letting up,

"Why? You're here all the time. Wouldn't you consider it like a second home of your own."

Fai pushed the door open wider, stepping in beside Tomoyo,

"I shouldn't keep Kuro waiting, Tomoyo."

He said, a bit of the humor he usually held in his voice disappearing.

Tomoyo did all she could and nodded, returning back to her room. Fai jumped up the stairs to Kurogane's room, not bothering to knock on his door,

"Kuro-barky! You better not be naked!"

Fai exclaimed, nearly jumping through the door.  
Kurogane looked up from his desk, scowling at the blonde.

"Idiot, don't call me nonsensical names; and that was one time you came over earlier than I thought you would!"

Kurogane barked back, pinching the bridge of his nose. His room was always a mess, with magazines and clothes strewn everywhere. Fai closed the door and stumbled through his room, finally ending up on his bed.

"Mind if I change out of my uniform now, Kuro-tan?"

Kurogane growled at the nickname, glaring at Fai through his peripherals,

"Do what you want. Just hurry up so we can get to studying."

Kurogane turned his attention back to his book, vaguely registering the fumbling of clothing from Fai's direction. He had been trying to study on his own, but what Tomoyo had said to him in the morning kept playing repeatedly in his head.

'All those times he comes over at some ungodly hour to help you with your homework, does he ever ask for anything in return?'

Kurogane rubbed the back of his hand against his tan forehead. 'no' was the resounding answer. He had never refused to help him once, nor had he ever asked for anything in return. Even tonight, at 11 p.m., Fai had sacrificed his free time to help him out.

He needed an answer, and that stupid blonde was going to give him one.

"Yo, Fai, why is it…"

Kurogane began, twisting around in his chair to face Fai. He stopped short in his speech when his eyes fell upon the nearly naked boy. He'd forgotten, while paying attention to his own internal musings, that Fai had been in the process of changing.

Normally, he would've turned away again and uttered some form of an apology, but something caught his eyes.

"What are those?"

He questioned, pointing at Fai's lower body.

Fai blushed noticeably, sitting down on Kurogane's bed and trying to cover as much of his body as he could. He looked with shock back at Kurogane, the deviant nature of Kurogane's question startling him.

"Kuro-poooon, why are you looking at me so strangely?"

He said nervously, readjusting himself to hide more of his exposed, pale body.

Kurogane had only seen Fai bare-chested a few times—and all those times he'd nearly recoiled in shock. Fai was thin, everyone knew that much, but to see him without a shirt was a different story. He carried almost no muscle mass and it was an easy task to count every rib on his body.

Fai's emaciated body wasn't his area of focus at the moment, though. He stood up from his desk and walked over to Fai.

Fai scuttled back farther onto Kurogane's bed, fearful to what the powerful male was planning. Kurogane put an arm under each of Fai's arm-pits and lifted him into the air; with Fai being so thin and Kurogane exceedingly strong, it was an easy task.

"What are you wearing?"

He finally asked, setting Fai down on his bed when he was certain he was seeing correctly. Fai promptly sat on the bed, completely dumb-struck from the sudden release of the anxiety he had felt only moments before. When finally the question registered in his mind, he laughed at the realization that the situation wasn't as foreboding as it had seemed.

"That's what you're talking about, Kuro-rin? I thought you were trying to attack me."

He said through bouts of laughter.

"They're boxer-briefs, Big Doggie. Haven't you ever seen them before?"

Kurogane quirked an eyebrow at the shorter male,

"No, I haven't."

Fai laughed again, stretching his legs and getting off the bed. He walked a few paces to Kurogane's left and found his flannel pajama bottoms. He pulled on the elastic waist band and pulled them over his legs, clothing his bottom half-again.

"Don't scare me like that over something as silly as underwear. I really thought you were mad at me."

Fai said, his tone serious despite the smile still on his face.

Kurogane let out a huff and turned to face Fai,

"You should eat more."

He stated bluntly, lifting his finger to poke one of Fai's ribs.  
Fai ducked to the side, batting at Kurogane's fingers.

"Don't avoid the subject by trying to make me feel guilty."

Fai said with a smile, placing both hands on his hips in superiority.

"Fine. I'll be less imposing if you eat more."

Kurogane said back with a matching smile, placing his other hand on his hip in an attempt to challenge Fai's superiority.  
Fai placed his hands in front of him in defeat, chuckling as he did so,

"Fine, fine. You have a deal."

He said, throwing on the plain white t-shirt he had brought with him,

"What was it you were going to ask me?"

It took a moment for Kurogane to recollect his thoughts after the short outburst.

"Whenever I call asking for help, you've always come."

He began, taking a seat on his bed. He leaned against the wall on the other side, picking at a piece of lint from his black basketball shorts,

"Why do you never ask for anything in return?"

Kurogane looked back up at Fai, locking eyes with him. Fai looked away, noticeably considering Kurogane's question. He eventually moved forward onto the bed, taking a seat directly next to Kurogane,

"I don't need anything in return. I just like helping you, Kuro-pon"

Kurogane shifted awkwardly, unsure how to respond. It hadn't been what he'd been expecting in the slightest. He'd expected to hear 'Because one day I'll have a favor to ask you', but he'd instead received some of the kindest words he'd heard in quite some time.

If there was one thing that made Kurogane awkward, it was when things became sentimental.

"In that case, get off your lazy ass and get to helping me."

Kurogane said with a smirk, breaking the silence before it could become awkward.

"Awwwh, you don't have to be so mean, Kuro-poo!"

"And stop with the stupid nicknames!!"

_End of Chapter Four_


	5. Chapter 5

AN:

Why, hallo thar wednesday!

Hahaha. I'm afraid I don't actually have time to respond to any of my lovely reviews (though I appreciate them so much!), or to proofread this right now. I'll edit it later, so if you catch any silly spelling/grammar errors, know that I'll probably come by to fix them in a bit.

Also, in case you didn't catch the fact in the first chapter, Fai always wears long, black gloves.

Well, that's all then. I give you chapter 5:

**Chapter Five**

At 1 a.m., Kurogane finally threw down his math book in frustration and announced that they were done. Despite Fai's efforts to get him to study the last part of the chapter, Kurogane blatantly refused. Kurogane, still ignoring Fai's pleas, went to his closet and pulled out an old mattress. After setting it beside his own bed, Kurogane tugged out a comforter from under his cluttered bed and set it on top of the mattress.

"You can have my bed tonight."

He said in his gruff voice, lying on the grounded mattress himself.

"How uncharacteristically kind of you, Kuro-tan. Feeling bad for questioning my taste in underwear?"

Fai asked back, closing his own math book in recession.  
Kurogane let out a 'chh' sound as he pulled one of the pillows from his normal bed onto the mattress.

"Just turn off the lights and get into the bed."

Fai stood up from the desk and walked to the other end of the room, careful to notice where there would be obstacles on his walk back in the darkness. As he walked, Kurogane noticed that, as always, Fai was wearing the same long navy-blue gloves he always wore. He sometimes wondered when Fai found time to wash them—or if he even ever did.

Fai flicked the switch, instantly sending the room into a swimming pool of inky blackness. As carefully as he dared, Fai began to shuffle across the room. He blinked repeatedly, hoping to get his eyes adjusted to the darkness. His right foot finally hit the corner of Kurogane's mattress. With one more step, he was over his taller friend and in the bed, rustling around to find the edge of the blankets.

"Hey, Kuro-woofy?"  
Fai whispered after finally settling himself in the bed.

Trying to ignore the nickname, Kurogane turned to his other side to face Fai,

"What?"

He heard Fai sigh, and recognized the sound of movement as Fai turning to face him as well.

"You transferred here from Japan about a year ago, right?"

He asked, idly toying with the long strand of his bangs that crossed directly over his line of vision.

"What of it?"

"What were the people there like?"

Kurogane blinked in the darkness, trying to make out Fai's expression. The moonlight pouring through the single window in his room gave enough light to distinguish the peaceful smile on Fai's face.

"Well…"  
He began, turning onto his back,

"My parents and I lived in a large village fairly set off from any other cities or villages. I spent most of my time in and around my own house, but  
all the villagers I met were kind."

Kurogane stared at the chipping plaster above his roof, losing himself in the nostalgia,

"Eventually I met the princess of the country. Along with her, I met her cousin Tomoyo and her friend, Souma."

"Oh? What was Tomoyo doing there?"

Kurogane chuckled, lifting a hand to itch his nose,

"She was living with the princess for a while."

A lengthy pause lapsed between the two of them. Thinking Fai's curiosity had finally satiated, Kurogane closed his eyes, the lethargy of the day taking its toll.

"That girl… Souma?

Kurogane begrudgingly opened one eye, shifting it to look at Fai's face.

"What about her?"

He muttered, barely able to pronounce the syllables.

"You dated her, didn't you?"

All thoughts to his need for sleep vanquished at the unexpected question. Kurogane opened both eyes wide,

"What makes you ask that?"

Through the impenetrable darkness, Kurogane heard Fai chuckle.

"Your inflection, Kuro-poo. You paused before you said her name and you said it like you were setting her apart."

Kurogane let out a grunt,

"What are you, some psychologist?"

Fai extended a hand from his side and poked Kurogane on the forehead.

"No, I just listen well enough to catch differences in speech patterns."

He pulled his hand back, rubbing his index finger over his closed right eye-lid.

"Did you, then?"

Kurogane sighed, rolling back on his side. He knew there was no use feigning ignorance or lying his way out of it.

"I met Souma before I met any of the others. She and some other soldiers came to our village on orders from the princess to make sure everything was alright. We were both 15, so my father asked me to take care of her for the two weeks she would be staying."

"So, it was love at first sight, then?"

Fai interjected, smiling down at Kurogane.

"If you ask for a damn story, then just listen to it. I'm not in the mood to put up with your stupid commentaries."

"Sorry, Kuro-pon"

Kurogane shot a hand up, flicking Fai on the forehead.

"Or to be called stupid nicknames!"

Fai raised his hand and rubbed the assaulted forehead.

"If you'll be calm enough to let me finish, it wasn't love. We were both strong fighters and both liked that in the other gender. That was all."  
Fai's hand fell back on the pillow effortlessly,

"Why did the two of you break up, then?"

He asked, his voice barely over a whisper.

Kurogane lay in silence as he decided what to tell Fai. The stupid blonde was the closest thing he had to a friend, but that meant nothing to their trust. They'd known each other for over a year, and neither had spoken a word of their past to each other. Neither, he'd found out, were too eager to detail their own past. He could only imagine that both of their pasts were dark enough to keep hidden, even from one where such mutuality could be found.

"Something happened between me and someone else, and she took the other persons side. We never had a 'break-up', but it was clear enough that neither of us wanted anything to do with the other."

He finally said, hoping to make his answer as vague as possible.

Fai seemed to catch this reluctance to give information and smiled,

"Don't worry, I won't ask you any more about it."

He muttered, turning onto his stomach.

"What's with the questions?"

Kurogane asked, shocked that Fai had dropped the subject on the turn of a dime.

"Just curious. I know you don't like people asking about your past, but I wanted to at least know where you came from."

Kurogane scoffed, closing his eyes again.

"Yeah? Then why didn't you ask more about the land was like?"

Fai let out a similar scoff as he brushed a stray strand of hair from his face.

"Geography doesn't determine what your home-country is like. It's the people inside it that matter."

Kurogane smirked,

"You're like an annoying, walking philosophy book."

"So rude."

Fai muttered, resignation clear in his voice. He was too tired to have the usual banter he would have with Kurogane.

"G'night."

He finally mumbled, burying his head in the pillow.

-- -- --

Tomoyo always woke an hour before school started. This wasn't due to an alarm clock or any other outside force's effort, but by her own internal clock.  
The first thing she did upon waking up was to make a decision: did she wake Kurogane up, or did she deal with her own morning rituals first?

This decision was affected by a number of factors. The first was her own convenience and irritability in the morning. The second was Kurogane's temper; he was never exactly pleasant upon first awakening. The third and final factor was whether or not Fai had spent the night. Fai was downright pleasant in the morning, and therefore a much better candidate at tolerating Kurogane's morning grumpiness.

When Tomoyo did awake, she quickly brushed her hair. She could go up in pajamas to awaken Fai, but her long, curly black hair was an incredibly different, more embarrassing matter in the morning. The purple, glitter infused brush completed its laborious task without complaint. With her hair in some form of array, Tomoyo traversed the distance from her room to Kurogane's, taking care to take the last few steps with extreme grace.

She gently pushed open the door and slipped into Kurogane's room, shivering as her foot almost immediately met with something cold. She glanced down to what she had stepped on, immediately relaxing when she realized it was merely a metallic chain necklace.

Another glance upwards caused her to blink in surprise. It was nothing she publicly faulted Kurogane with, but his protection of his own possessions bordered on obsessive. Why then, she wondered, was Fai in Kurogane's normal bed.

Tomoyo knew her place in Kurogane's life, and subsequently knew that she would never have that question answered. She could only assume or make guesses. In this case, she decided to assume that her conversation had led Kurogane to value his friendship with Fai more.

She let out a chortle, continuously tiptoeing through the room. Her assumption was too far-fetched and uncharacteristic for Kurogane's type of personality, but her optimism about Kurogane's other side—his kind side—allowed her to imagine otherwise.

Wherein Kurogane had a loud, obnoxious snore and continuously fidgeted while he slept, Fai was nearly the opposite. People often mistook Fai to be dead while he slept. He never moved, never made a sound, and it was difficult for anyone to see the rise and fall of his chest that signified any form of life.

Tomoyo stepped between the minuscule crack between the two beds and looked down at Fai. She gently grabbed his left shoulder and shook him.

With anyone else Tomoyo had ever awakened, all had either opened their eyes with a start or shot up in fright. When Fai woke up, however, it seemed completely premeditated; as if he had been expecting her.

He slowly opened his eyes and looked directly at Tomoyo, a pleasant smile on his face.

"Good morning, Tomoyo."

He whispered, sitting up slowly.

"Leaving me the duty of waking him up?"

He whispered again, even softer as Kurogane made a sudden move.  
Tomoyo smiled back in what she hoped was an apologetic way,

"If you wouldn't mind?"

Fai looked down at Kurogane's slumbering form and chuckled at the disgruntled expression he wore.

"Make me something delicious for breakfast and I'll consider us even."

Tomoyo let out a soft giggle herself and gave Fai a thumb up. She hopped over Kurogane's bed daintily and landed on the other side without a sound.

Fai watched as she disappeared through the door before turning his attention back to Kurogane. Despite the fact that he had titled it a 'duty', there were few things as enjoyable as waking Kurogane up for him. Unlike Tomoyo, his methods of stirring someone from their sleep were exceedingly unconventional.

Last time Fai had had the pleasure of waking Kurogane up it had been with a pillow to the face. Today he wanted to do something more diabolical and clever.

It didn't take long for him to remember what made the ever-irascible Kurogane awkward; and after that, it took even less to think of his plan.

He stepped from the bed and into the crack Tomoyo had previously been in. Kurogane, he knew, had always been a light sleeper. That meant he would have to execute his plan without falter.

He grabbed the bottom of his white-shirt with both hands and threw it off in one swift motion, tossing the discarded article of clothing to his side. He knelt down and gently placed his knees on the bed, glad for the fact that it had been too hot for Kurogane to use a blanket last night. He paused as Kurogane shifted in his sleep, grumbling some indiscernible thing. Once certain that Kurogane had settled back into his sleep, Fai continued with his plan. With unexpected guile, he moved onto his side and lay down next to Kurogane. Fai meticulously maneuvered himself even closer to the male, his plan executing perfectly. Lying on his back, Kurogane was in the perfect position. Fai gently set his head on Kurogane's chest after pulling himself close enough. When Kurogane didn't stir, Fai brought his right hand up and grasped it around Kurogane's side. In the end, their position could only be described with one word: cuddling.

Fai knew how to play on Kurogane's nerves, and the male's obvious disdain for close physical contact was just profound enough for Fai to risk getting hit.

-- --  
_The frigid mountain air beat across his face as he deftly pulled the black reigns of his horse. Jagged peaks of distant mountains stood out against a flawless sky. The rocky, precarious mountain trail ground beneath the hooves of his large white stallion. One last bend in the mountain and he would see his precious village again. He pulled back on the reigns, urging his horse to stop. He closed his eyes and took a moment to savor the scent of wild rosemary adorning the side of the rode mingled with the sweat of his horse. He listened to the soft panting of his horse, the wind soaring through the canyon, and the distant cry of a disturbed falcon._

_Everything was wonderful; everything was at peace. Even so high in the mountains, Kurogane felt completely warm. No… he felt more than warm. He was hot._

_Was he sweating too? The sensation was too strange for him to continue dwelling on his senses. His eyes shot open, only to realize that he was no longer on the mountain trail. He was in his village. Though fires raged around him, he knew that wasn't the reason for the heat he felt. There was something on his back—something warm and leaking._

_Not leaking, Kurogane realized in dread, but bleeding. He turned around, somehow already knowing who it was. He pulled at the hand draped over his shoulder and pulled the body. His mother's body fell into his lap, her blood swathed clothes nothing in comparison to her pain-stricken face._

_He felt tears burn at his eyes.  
"Why, Kurogane?"  
Though her eyes kept fixated on the roof and the rest of her body remained dead, her lips moved in time with the words. They sounded from some hollow, infinitesimal area of her body.  
His hands clenched at the bloody hole in her stomach, desperately trying to stop the endless surge of blood._

-- -- --

Kurogane jerked out of his slumber with his chest rising and falling in quick succession. He looked up at the ceiling and opened his mouth to ease the crushing feeling on his chest. Though the breaths came easier, the overburdening weight on his stomach hadn't subsided.

The dream had been so realistic—for just an instant, he had found himself back in that moment. 'It was only a dream' he thought, trying to calm himself. His dreams often held the same sort of content, but never had their effects lingered for so long. It felt, to him, as though the body were still on him.

He lifted his head enough to look at his chest, worried that his dream had somehow manifested itself into reality.  
It wasn't his mother's body, but it was a different one.

A body that, if he had any say, would become a corpse as soon as he could manage.  
"What **the hell** do you think you're doing?!"  
Kurogane said, pausing between every word for extra emphasis.

Fai lifted his head from Kurogane's chest, feigning a yawn.

"Good morning, Kuro-puu! You started crying in the night so I decided to come comfort you…"

Fai said, calm in response to Kurogane's escalating belligerence.  
Kurogane sat up sharply, shoving the other male from him.

"Don't try and lie to me, you idiot."

He said with a snarl, throwing his legs over the bed.

"How adorable, I made Kuro-puu mad!"

Fai said, grinning as he stood from the bed.

Kurogane turned back to him, a scowl on his face.

"If I see your face one more time this morning, I'm going to punch you."

He stated blatantly. He knew, as he turned back around, that Fai wouldn't take the threat emptily.

"Did you wake up from a nightmare, Kuro-puu?"

"You could say that."

Kurogane mumbled out, avidly searching his room for his suit-jacket. Fai found it first and tossed it in Kurogane's direction. A soft chuckle escaped his lips as the jacket fell directly over his head. Kurogane grabbed it with a low growl, muttering a muted 'thanks'.

"Hey, Kuro-rin?"

"What?"

Kurogane shot back, buttoning up his jacket.

"Does this mean I can't have shotgun today?

_End of Chapter Five_


	6. Chapter 6

AN:

I'm really sorry for not updating on Wednesday! Something was wrong with me, so I had to be rushed to the hospital. Turns out I had appendicitus (sp?)

So, I had no time to type, and couldn't get a chapter out. I know this is not only late, but its also fairly short. I'm still recovering, and fear that I can't spend too much time typing or I'll exhaust myself. Hopefully I'll be better and be able to write more soon, but chances are I'll miss next weeks update as well unless I start feeling much better soon.

Please stick with me, I promise I haven't given up the story! There's way too much I have in store for it to even remotely consider giving it up.

I deeply appologize if there's any grammatical errors, and I also appologize that it isn't my best work. I'm just doing the best I can in the stage I'm in. I may come back and fix this chapter at some point, though

Thank you, and I'm sorry once again for my inability to update on wednesday

-- -- --

**Chapter Six**The sound of nervous voices and hastily flipped scripts filled the entire theatre to the brim. Never had a play audition at the school had such a large turn-out; then again, never had the school done something as main-stream as the phantom of the opera.

The over-bearing noise and sight of wave upon wave of student were what greeted Fai and Sakura as they entered the behemoth of a theatre. Every sound seemed magnified as it resonated off of the high, domed ceiling. It was easy for one to imagine that, at any moment, they were a part of every conversation in the room. Perhaps they were, for everyone seemed to be discussing the same thing: what part they wanted, why they loved the play, asking who would be directing the play this year, or who they felt would be best for what parts.

It took a bit of searching, but Fai and Sakura eventually found Watanuki, Himawari, Chi, Hideki, Syaoran, and Tomoyo all sitting towards the front in the seats.

"Tomoyo!?"  
Sakura exclaimed as she took a seat in one of the red, cushioned seats next to the raven-haired girl.  
"I didn't know you were trying out."  
It was hard to tell whether Sakura was excited or disappointed to see her friend at auditions.

Tomoyo gave her back a soft smile,  
"Everyone else was so excited about it at lunch yesterday. I didn't have a chance to say anything."

As the two began to chat merrily about the play, Fai felt a gentle hand touch his elbow. He turned around curiously to meet eyes with Chi. She retrieved her arm and offered him a soft smile,  
"Where have you been, Fai-san? I was worried that you weren't going to come after all…"  
Though she had attempted to hide it, Chi always wore her emotions on her sleeves; now was no different. The girl had actually been fearful that he wouldn't come and wouldn't audition.

Fai gave her a smile.  
Is it that she's looking forward to spending time with me?

"I was trying to convince Kuro-wan-wan to come and watch. But he wouldn't stop to listen. He was all 'I don't want to see some fruity little kids' voices crack as they try to sing."  
Fai said, his imitation of Kurogane's voice less than impressive when coming from a voice so naturally soft,  
"So I followed him around for a while until we passed by Sakura rushing to the theatre. I had to give up on getting Kuro-puppy to come after that."

Chi let out a giggle as Fai feigned a pout  
"I don't think this would be Kurogane-sama's cup of tea, Fai-san"  
She said back, quirking her eyebrow at Fai's antics. Kurogane was one person that wouldn't ever be expected to do anything involving the arts.

"Hello children!"  
A voice, accompanied by the shocking scratch of a microphone screech, sounded.

Almost immediately the chatter and laughter subsided. All heads turned to the tall, lithe woman standing at the edge of the curtained stage.

Fai quickly took a seat beside Chi before Yuuko could demean him for standing through a speech.  
Throughout the audience, Yuuko received scattered responses of 'Hello, mam', 'hello, headmistress', and 'hello Mrs.Yuuko'.

She quickly scanned through the rows of teenagers, not bothering to hide the derogatory smile.

"As you all know, this years play is the phantom of the opera. As none of you knew, I'm going to be your director."  
She took a step to the left and began a steady, calculated pace,  
"The play will open in three months. If you are not prepared to memorize the script and songs within the first 3 weeks, you will be replaced. If you are the replacement, prepare to be memorized in less than a week after that."

She paused to turn and continue her pacing,  
"You may be thinking, 'oh, wonderful, beautiful Yuuko! How can we possibly build a set and be prepared in only three months?' The answer, is this."  
She placed her hand flat and quickly raised it, nodding with her head to some unseen person behind the foremost curtains. The long, crimson red curtains were raised excruciatingly slowly to reveal behind them what Fai and a few others could clearly label as the stage for the scenes within the opera house.

Yuuko beamed as a quiet wave of chatter befell the group below her,  
"All the stages were completed this summer. As I personally have a deep passion for the phantom of the opera, I spent all summer planning and building all of the sets."

For a moment, the room fell into silence. Yuuko stopped smiling and simply stood—as if she were waiting for someone. A low murmur eventually started in the crowd as the incriminating silence continued on.

While his friends shifted nervously around him, Fai wondered if he was the only one perceptive enough to know what Yuuko was waiting for. He rolled his eyes when he noted that no one could seem to recall that Yuuko had a giant ego that needed stoking.

Alone, he began to clap,  
"Hyuu! Way to go, Yuuko!"  
He exclaimed loudly. Yuuko turned to him and gave him a grin. Catching this, the rest of the auditoners took up the applause.

Yuuko bowed gracefully at the ovation before continuing,  
"Before we get into basics, I need a stage manager. Would anyone be willing to, or know of anyone willing to fill that spot? It'd be a lot of work, but it won't be without rewards…"  
She said, adding inflection on the word 'reward'. With Yuuko, it was impossible to tell whether that 'reward' would end up being pleasant.

Again, silence came over the students. Everyone who had come had come only to act, dance, and sing. No one wanted the exhausting job of stage managing.

Fai stood up in his seat and raised a hand. Yuuko looked up to him, quirking in eyebrow in confusion as to why he would possibly want to work as a stage manager.

"Not me, Yuuko!"  
Fai said, reading the shadow of confusion in her expression,  
"But I know Kuro-sama would want to! He seemed so disappointed that he wouldn't be able to spend this time with us, but he has terrible stage fright!"  
When it came to lieing, Fai was blatantly unsuccessful. He was certain, though, that Yuuko would be willing to look past that for some forced labor.

And then he'd be able to spend time after school with Kurogane.

Yuuko placed a hand to her mouth as she laughed,  
"Oh, poor boy. Tell him that he's my new stage managed, Fai-kun!"  
She said, winking knowingly at him.

"Now, onto auditions. Hopefully you're all prepared to audition?"  
She asked, searching to see if anyone would stand up and admit that they weren't prepared. When none came, she motioned with her hands off-stage once more. Shortly after, two young girls joined her on stage.  
"Great. Now I'm going to split you off into two groups. Who here is only interested in a chorus singing part?"  
A few people, including Hideki, raised their hands. Yuuko estimated the number of hands in her head and gave a short nod of head.  
"You all will be going with Maru."  
She stated, pointing to the girl on her left. The mentioned girl smiled and bowed.  
"Follow her out of the western exit."  
Yuuko pointed a well-manicured finger towards the door and waited for the group to leave.

She went on to send the chorus dancers with Moro and split the remaining people into groups based on their choice of character.

Unsurprisingly, the group for 'phantoms' and 'christines' was larger than any other. For this reason, Yuuko told the two to groups to find a partner, for they would have to sing duets to save time.

The groups instantly began intermingling and looking for partners. Fai, a good deal taller than the rest of the students, began to search for Sakura's sandy brown hair. He pushed his way through the crowd with ease.

Before he could resort to shouting Sakura's name, he felt a hand grab his shoulder. When he turned, he expected to see Sakura clutching his arm. Instead, he found himself looking into the amethyst eyes of Tomoyo.

"Fai, would you mind being my partner for our duet? I've always wanted to sing with you…"

Fai could scarcely mask his shock. He'd never heard Tomoyo sing or do something as brave as try-out for a main part in a play.

"Sure, Tomoyo!"  
He said with a smile, gently grabbing her hand and pulling her to the side of the still-mingling group. Either way—if Tomoyo was good or bad—it wouldn't have an effect on his performance. He could only assume that, as a director, Yuuko wouldn't base their auditon as a reflection of how well their other did?

The two took a seat on the stage to discuss their singing.  
"Do you have a song in mind, Fai?"  
Tomoyo asked. Fai was surprised by her sudden drive. He'd never seen her take charge like that.

"Hmmm, nope! We only have three choices if it's a duet between Christine and the phantom."  
He held up a hand as he counted them off,  
"There's the phantom of the opera song, the mirror song, and Past the point of no return."  
She nodded, focused on his three extended fingers.

"The mirror song is too short, if you don't mind my saying. Most other people will be doing the phantom song, but it's also the best song to show of vocal range."  
She mused, rubbing her chin as she thought.

Fai found himself even more surprised. He'd always assumed that Tomoyo was the quiet, studious type who dedicated herself to her studies; yet here she was, showing a side he'd never seen—a side that was apparently wise in theatrical acting.

"Shall we do Past the Point of no Return, then?"

Tomoyo smiled back at him,

"You took the words right out of my mouth."

-- -- --

Most of the performers before them were mediocre at best. As they'd expected, every Christine and Phantom pairing chose the phantom of the opera couple besides Sakura and the boy she'd partnered with; they'd sung the mirror song.

After Sakura and the boy stepped down, it was Fai and Tomoyo's turn. He could feel his heart pummeling incessantly in his chest at the tremulous feeling of the approaching audition. Tomoyo grasped his hand and he felt that she too was trembling. Whether it was out of anxiety or trepidation, he couldn't tell.

As they walked onto the stage, their foot-falls made the only sound in the entire theatre, creating a dull echo throughout the room.

"The Point of No Return."

Fai said, smiling confidently in compensation for his fear. He heard a few pages turn and assumed that the members of the band in the orchestra pit were rapidly looking for the song. When the music started, Fai felt Tomoyo stiffen next to him. He was about to whisper whether she was alright, when she took a step forward and began singing.  
At that moment, Fai wondered how it was possible that he'd never heard Tomoyo sing before. With a voice like hers, she should've been singing every moment she could.  
She sang the words perfectly, her words smoother than melted honey, her voice moving with every note. Suddenly, his apprehension vanished. It was no longer about the audition for the part for him, now he just wanted to sing alongside her. He wanted to find a harmony that could match her verbal elegance. He too stepped beside her and sing when his part came, digging from his diaphragm every ounce of prowess he could muster.

The result was pure eloquence. The two sang beside each other in perfection, each singing their own part magnificently—each matching the other.

When they were done, Fai turned to look at Tomoyo, wondering if she'd felt a bit of whatever it was that he'd felt when they'd sung. It wasn't between two auditoners, or of friend and friend, and it certainly wasn't anything regarding love. Whatever it had been had simply felt…eternal. She looked up at him and affirmed his suspicion. She looked as astounded and pleased as he did.

No one could deny it. The two had stage chemistry.

They walked offstage amidst a wave of applause.

"You were wonderful, Tomoyo."  
Fai said, patting her on the back. She beamed up at him.  
"You too!"

He chuckled, picking up his bag that he'd left backstage. Tomoyo did the same.

"Let's say we go find Kuro-poo. He must be lonely by now without us."  
Tomoyo quirked an eyebrow at him,  
"He's going to be mad, you know. About the stage manager thing."  
Her voice held amusement, but also carried a serious tone.

"I know. I didn't do it to be mean, but I really do think he'd get lonely."  
Tomoyo blinked in surprise. Fai smiled at her perplexion and ruffled her hair,  
"He hides his emotions well and plays the part of lone wolf well, but it's easy to tell that he likes being around us. People don't habitually do things or, in this case, hang around certain people unless they derive some sort of pleasure from it!"  
Tomoyo simply hugged Fai around the stomach—he was to tall to give him a proper hug. She buried her head in Fai's chest as the boy stood rigid, unsure how to react,

"Thank you for understanding him, Fai-san."  
She said as she pulled away. Fai merely blushed at the statement. Apparently Tomoyo was as perceptive as he was.

"Are you going to tell him about the stage managing?"  
Fai asked. Tomoyo gave him a skeptical look,  
"No, aren't you?"

Fai's angelic smile was replaced by one of malevolence,  
"No, let's wait until it's posted on the call-back list. That way he won't be able to say no!"

Tomoyo playfully slapped his arm,  
"And he won't be mad at you, so you can still go to the river with us tomorrow?"  
She asked. Fai stuck out his tongue in response,

"Don't be mean, I haven't been to the river in years!"

Tomoyo grinned at him as they walked outside, enjoying their pleasant conversation. Maybe it was her maternal instincts, or maybe it really was just her desire to see Kurogane happy, but she knew it would be a good thing if Kurogane joined as the stage manager. That way, he'd have something to do other than practice his brutal fighting, and he could spend time with the one person he'd ever referred to as a friend. Somehow, the two reclusive teens had found some form of solace with their friendship, one that spoke of the mutual pain neither of them would openly discuss.

_End of Chapter Six_


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